I'll Never Leave You Like This
by xochambersgirlxo
Summary: ORIGINALLY SUMMER OF '86! My take on the Ray Brower trip! I got the idea from all of your ideas because i just love all your guys's take on it, so i wrote my own!
1. Prologue

Summer of '86 was the best summer of my life. I'll never forget it. I went along with my three best friends, Chris, Gordie, Teddy, and Vern, to go find a dead body. Ray Brower. I knew the name, but not exactly the kid.

My name is Ashley Barker. I'm nothing special. I have straight, sleek, black hair that goes to the middle of my back, and navy-blue eyes. I'm not tall, but I wouldn't call myself short.

I've known the guys since I moved to Castle Rock when I was three. We became best friends in kindergarten, and haven't separated since. I love them with all of my heart, and would do anything for them. I know they feel the same about me, too.

I live next door to Chris, and so I'm over there about 24/7. He's like my big brother (By a month and two days, I'll add) and I don't know if I could survive without him. He's been there for me through everything. Like when my mother died (he went to the funeral, and let me sleepover), or when I wanted to run away (talked me out of it, and let me sleepover also). He's my best friend, and I've always felt closer to him than Gordie, Teddy, or Vern.

Gordie's reminds me a lot like my mother was. Very cautious, but can be a hoot when your around him often. Me and him share the connection that we both lost someone very special in our lives. He's someone I can talk to about that, and Chris too, of course.

Teddy. Oh God, me and Teddy should be twins. He's crazy, and I'm almost just as crazy as him. If you gave us two guns, we'd rule the world within the hour. I love him so much, just like all of the other boys.

Vern is like a big teddy bear. He's not too bright, but he's always someone I can talk to. I don't sleepover that much because his mom is strict with the time we go to sleep, but I go over his house very often.

So those are the boys.

If you're wondering about me? I'm 13, going on 14. I live in a shitty house, right next to Chris's. I have my hard-working father, that barely has time for us. I have an older sister, Lauren. She's 20, and lives with her boyfriend somewhere not near us. She only visits on holidays.

And now, let me tell you all about the journey that changed my life. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the story!

**I'm just saying I got this idea from Sweet as Candy By: irishrachel1 **

**I am absolutely in love with that story!!!! Keep it going! PLEASE! **

**-Racetrackluva69**


	2. Chapter 1

**I don't own any of these characters or the parts from the movie. The only thing I own is Ashley Barker. And Higgenburg Academy. (Which isn't real.)**

I couldn't breathe. The news hit me like a ton of bricks. I couldn't leave. Couldn't leave Castle Rock. It was my home, my life. I couldn't leave Chris, Gordie, Teddy, or Vern. I needed them, and they needed me.

"Oh come on, Ashley. You'll like Higgenburg. Plus it will give you a scholarship to college, and you know we can't afford college for you." Dad said, giving me a pouty look. I wiped the single tear that trickled down my cheek. Higgenburg Academy was a year-round boarding school for just girls.

"And you won't be able to afford Higgenburg! Please don't make me go! PLEASE! And plus, I can't live at a school surrounded by snotty bitches!" I begged and cried. He shook his head.

"Don't use that language, Ashley! And it will be fine. You come home every other weekend, and for holidays. Like Lauren! Also, I just think I can get more work done if I have no distraction…" He added. I glared at him.

"That's all I am, Dad?" I asked, angrily. "A distraction? Because last time I checked, you haven't spent more than a minute with me. All you ever do is _work_!" I yelled. "If you send me to that shit hole I will never speak to you again! I'll run away! _Then _you'll never have the 'distraction'!" I screamed, running out the door.

I ran all the way to our tree house. Out of breath, I climbed the ladder and did the secret knock. I wasn't going to say anything about Higgenburg to my friends. They didn't need to know this might be my last time with them.

"Come in Ash," I heard Teddy say. "We're playing cards." I rolled my eyes, and opened the wooden door to find smoke all over the room.

"Hey, Ashley." Gordie said, smiling at me. I smiled back and did a small wave.

"Hey. How do you know a French man's been in your backyard?" Chris asked. Totally ignoring my entrance. Teddy made a face.

"Hey I'm French, okay?" He said. I laughed.

"Bonjour Teddy!" I smiled. He made a sarcastic laugh at me. "Well!" I sneered.

"Your garbage cans are empty, and your dogs pregnant!" Chris cracked, smoking a bug puff of his cigarette. I took the box and lighter from by his shoe, and lit myself one. Taking a big puff, I laughed at Chris's joke.

"Didn't I just say I was French?" Teddy screamed. I rolled my eyes and opened up one of Gordie's comic books, barely reading. I was thinking about dumb old Higgenburg.

"You okay?" Gordie asked me. I nodded.

"Couldn't be better, Gordo." I tried to smile. I couldn't let this dumb possibility ruin my summer. I decided to wipe the thought away, and just hang with my friends.

"I knock." Chris smiled.

"Shit!" Teddy said. Chris put down his cards.

"Twenty-nine!" he laughed.

"Twenty-two!" Teddy placed his down.

"Piss up a rope!" Gordie shouted, angrily putting his cards down.

"Gordie's out! Old Gordie just stepped out the door! Hee-he-he-he!" Teddy laughed out loudly. I threw the comic at him.

"Oh shut it," I smiled. He glared at me playfully.

"You shut it, Ashley." He smiled. I opened my mouth.

"LA-LA-LA-LA-LA! I'm not shutting it, Teddy! LA-LA-LA!" Teddy leaned over and covered my mouth with his sweaty hand. I licked it, and laughed evilly as he jerked it away.

"Ew!" He yelped. I began cracking up.

"Ew!" I mocked him in a girly voice. He threw the comic I threw at him, back at me. I laughed as it missed my by a foot. "Nice throw, shit-heap." He glared at me.

"Come on man, deal!" Chris said, coolly. He's always so calm. I just love that about him. How he can always play himself out of a situation by talking it out, and no violence. Well, _almost_ always. I smiled at him, and he looked over at me.

"What, Ash? Do I have a booger or something?" He laughed. I shook my head.

"Yeah, your face is a booger." I argued. He got up from where he was sitting.

"That's it!" He yelled, and started tickling me on my sides. (That's where I'm most ticklish)

"Stoppit! Stop! Please!" I laughed out. We both fell on the wooden floor, him still tickling me.

"Say mercy, Ash!" He ordered. Teddy and Gordie were cracking up as Chris tortured me with tickles.

"Mercy! Mercy! Mercy!" I laughed hysterically. He pushed the hair out of my face, and sat back down to play the game. I sat up, and flipped my hair over to tie it up in a pony tail.

"I knock." Teddy smiled, evilly. Chris's grin turned to a frown.

"You four-eyed pile of shit!" he yelled.

"A pile of shit has a thousand eyes!" Teddy smiled. Gordie rolled his eyes and came to sit with me. "What's so funny? I have thirty! What do you have?" Teddy asked, forcefully.

"Sixteen." Chris giggled. I laughed, and laid my head down in Gordie's lap.

"Hey there," I smiled looking up at him.

"Hi," He smiled back. I laughed some more. "You're all giggly." He laughed, also.

"What's wrong with laughing? It brings joy to the world!" I argued with him.

We heard a knock on the door.

"That's not the secret knock!" Gordie said.

"Aw I forget the secret knock. Lemme in guys!"

"Vern," We all groaned.

"Come on guys, open up!?" He asked. Gordie opened up the wooden door, and Vern came in, all bubbly and excited. "Oh man! You guys are not going to believe this. This is so boss! Oh man! Wait till you hear this! Wait till ya hear this! You won't believe it! It's unbelievable! Let me catch my breath! I ran all the way from my house-"

We all started singing.

"I ran all the wa-ay home, just to say I'm sor-ry…"

"Come on you guys, listen to me! This is boss, come on!" We ignored him and kept singing. "Okay forget it."

Chris made us all stop. "Alright, hold on you guys. What is it?" He asked Vern.

"Okay, great. You wont believe this, sincerely." We continued singing again, just to annoy him. "Screw you guys, forget it." We all started laughing.

"What is it?" Chris asked.

"Yeah, I actually want to know what you have to say, for a change." I smiled at him.

"Can you guys camp out tonight? I mean, if your telling your folks that we're gonna tent out in my back field?" He asked, excitedly. I nodded.

"Anything to get away from my dad. He's been acting up lately." I assured Vern.

"Great, Chris?"

"Yeah probably." Chris said.

"Gordie, Teddy?" Vern was all jumpy. I rolled my eyes, and sat back against the wall. Whatever he was all excited about, it couldn't have been a big deal. One time when I slept over, we found an army of ants carrying this food to their anthole, and he was so excited he had us campout so he could tell Chris, Gordie, and Teddy. Such an over reactor.

"Yeah," Gordie answered.

"So what are you pissin' and moaning about, Verno?" Teddy asked. I let out a small chuckle.

"I knock." Chris said, continuing the card game.

"What? You liar! You ain't got no pad hand! You didn't deal yourself no pad hand!" Teddy freaked out. Such freaker-outters when it comes to cards.

"You guys wanna go see a dead body?" Vern asked.

The tree house went silent. I could barely breathe.

**Please R&R! I hope you like it!**

**-Racetrackluva69**


	3. Chapter 2

**I do not own any of the characters or nothing. I only own Ashley. That is all.**

His name was Ray Brower. He was hit by train. Vern overheard his brother talking about it when he was under the porch looking for his pennies. I gasped. Apparently all of the boys already knew about this kid. I only knew the name from school. I never thought he was dead or nothing.

"Oh my God! What the hell!?" I asked, totally freaking out.

"Chill out, Ashley." Chris came to my side, and wrapped his arm around my waist.

"B-but some kid died! I mean, what the fuck is up with that?" I shook like crazy.

"I know the back Harlow road! It comes to a dead end by the royal river! My dad and me used to fish for cossies out there." Chris looked from me to Vern.

"If they knew you were under there, they wudda killed you." He said. Gordie was all in his own little world, thinking.

"Could he have gotten all the way from Chamberlain to Harlow? That's really far." He said. I nodded, relaxing myself.

"Sure, he musta started walking on the train-tracks and just followed them the whole way." Chris said, like 'duh!'. I laughed.

"Yeah, yeah right! And then after dark the train musta come, and…el smacko!" I squeezed my eyes shut and held my hand to my ears.

"Okay _please_ don't talk about it! Please! You know how I am about these things!" I said, screaming. I hate anything to do with death or scariness, which is partly why it was major tough to deal with my mothers death. One time, I was over Chris's and I was trying to carve my name in his wall so he'd always see it, and I slipped and gave myself the tiniest cut on my thumb. It was no big deal, but once I saw the blood I started crying and I almost threw up.

"Yeah guys, you know how she gets about these things!" Chris acted all worried, sarcastically. "Hey you guys! I bet anything that if we find him, we'll get our pictures in the paper!" He jumped up all perky. I groaned.

"Yeah, yeah, we could even be on TV!" Teddy was all bubbly, as well. I groaned louder.

"No! No, no, no, no, NO! I'm not going to see no dead body! No fucking way in hell!" I screamed.

"C'mon, Ash! Please!?" Gordie begged. I shook my head.

"No! I hate dead bodies. I hate death! I hate blood, and guts and oh shit I'm gonna puke!" I said covering my mouth. Chris acted quick and patted my back, turned me toward the door and opened it so we could look down at the grass.

"If your gonna puke, do it there." He said. I swallowed hard, and closed the wooden door.

"I'm fine. But I _will_ throw up if I see a dead kid who was hit by a train!" I explained.

"You don't have to see it. We'll just look and tell you if we find it. You don't have to look at it if you don't wanna." Chris assured me. I smiled.

"Um…" I thought a minute. "okay fine." I groaned.

"Yes! Wait, what will we tell our folks?" Vern asked. Gordie thought a minute and jumped up.

"Exactly what you said! We all tell our folks we're camping out at our back field. You tell yours that your sleeping at Teddy's. Then we say we're going to the drag races the next day. We're rock solid till dinner tomorrow night!" Gordie said, very proud of himself.

"But what happens when we _do_ find the gross body, then our parents will know we weren't at the drag races. I'll get beat to death! We _all_ will get hided!" I exclaimed.

"Nobody will care because they'll be so jazzed about what we found its not going to make a difference!" Teddy yelled at me.

"Yeah! My dad will hide me anyway, but hell it's worth a hiding!" Chris said. I laughed.

"Shit yeah!" Teddy was all pumped up and excited about our little trip. And for that slight second, even though I didn't want to see the body, I forgot about Higgenburg. It felt good to forget.

We all decided to go. Me, slightly on edge but I wanted to spend this time with my friends. My best friends.

Me and Chris walked together back to our house.

"So you excited, Ash?" He asked. I shrugged.

"Definitely not to see a dead body. But, I guess it wont be that bad." I told him.

"Fucking straight it wont be that bad! It's gonna be a blast, Ashley!" He said. I smiled at him. He smiled back. I stuck my tongue out and we both started laughing.

"So have you seen Lauren lately?" Chris asked. He asks me that all of the time because his older brother, Eyeball Chambers, is in love with her.

"Nope." I yawned. I kept trying to push myself not to say anything about Higgenburg.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Chris asked. Whenever I think about something that bothers me, I make weird expressions. Damn me for having that habit!

"Nothing!" I answered a little too quickly. He gave me an odd look and we were finally at our houses.

"Um, see you in like ten minutes! We gotta meet up with the guys, so wait for me if your out here first!" I waved and blew him a kiss. He 'caught' it and 'put it in his pocket'. I giggled and ran into the house.

"Dad?" I shouted.

"Ashley?" he was in his room, working probably. I rolled my eyes and ran to my room. I started packing. I packed my orange tank top, and my black one, two pairs of denim shorts, and three pairs of underwear and two bras. I tried to find my canteen but couldn't. I would just use Gordie's or something. I looked around for anything else I might need. Nothing.

"Dad? I'm tenting out in Vern's back field. We're going to the drag races tomorrow! Bye!" I called, and ran outside to meet Chris.

"All set?" He asked. I nodded, we began walking.

"I lost my canteen. I need to borrow yours or Gordie's." I told him, he laughed.

"Alright," I smiled at him, and he pushed my shoulder.

"Ow, bitch!" I said, slapping his back. We were walking and fighting and then he grabbed my shoulder and put his arm around my neck. I laid my head down on his shoulder, but then realized it was quite difficult to walk that way. He laughed, and then stopped walking.

"I almost forgot!" He dropped his bag and started searching through it. "Look!" He said. I couldn't make out what he was holding until he held it up. It was a gun.

"Shit Chris, put that away!" I ordered. "If anyone sees you holding that think, they're gonna think _you_ killed that Brower kid!" I said. He laughed, even though I was clearly not joking.

"It's not even loaded, chill out." He said, putting it back in his bag. I shivered just thinking about what would happen if that gun was loaded.

We hitched a ride but found Gordie walking along by himself, so we stopped over there to walk with him.

"Thanks Mister!" I said. The old man who drove us waved, and drove off. We ran over to Gordie.

"Hey Chris. Hey Ash." Gordie said. I nodded.

"Hey man," Chris said.

"Show him the…you know," I said to Chris. He nodded and took the gun out of his bag. We went around the back of Blue Point Diner.

"You wanna be the Lone Ranger, or the Cisco Kid?" Chris asked, handing Gordie the gun.

"Ha-ha!" I laughed.

"Where the hell did you get that?" Gordie asked, astonished.

:"Hawked it from my old man's bureau! It's a .45!" Gordie looked all around it and pretended to shoot.

"Is it loaded!?" He asked.

"No," I said.

"Yeah, hell no! What do you think I am?" Chris asked, offended. Gordie aimed it at the trashcan and pulled the trigger. A bullet came shooting out and hit the trashcan. A waitress came running out.

"Shit man, shit!" I yelled as we ran off, screaming.

"Gordie did it!" I yelled, laughing my ass off, which was making it difficult to run.

"Gordie Lachance is shooting up Castle Rock!" Chris and I cracked up but Gordie just glared at us.

"Shut _up_!"

"Aw man, that was so funny!" I laughed, as we stopped to catch our breath.

"Oh man! You should've seen your face! Damn that was really cool! That was so fine!" Chris and me laughed. Gordie went again with the glares.

"You guys knew it was loaded!" He accused.

"No way, man!" I yelled.

"Yuh huh! You knew it was loaded, and I'm gonna be in trouble now! That Tupper babe saw me!" Gordie yelled at us.

"She thought it was firecrackers!" I guessed.

"I don't care. That was a mean trick, guys!" Gordie pouted.

"Hey Gordie," I said. Chris took his shoulder.

"Hey man, I didn't know it was loaded. Honest." Chris said.

"Swear?" Gordie asked.

"Yeah I swear." He said. Gordie looked at me.

"How bout you, Ashley? You swear?" He asked me.

"Of course!" I said. "What kind of friend do you think I am?" I asked, astonished.

"Okay. Good." We all smiled.

We went walking, until we ran into the Cobras. Shit knockers.


	4. Chapter 3

"Hey girls, and…Ashley. Where ya going?" Eyeball Chambers, Chris's brother, asked, sarcastically. He yanked Gordie's cherished baseball cap off his head.

"Hey come on, Man! My brother gave me that!" Gordie cried. I tried to pull it out of Eyeball's grimy hands, but he pulled it back.

"No way, Barker. This hat's mine!" Ace Merrill, the leader of the Cobras, took it from Eyeball and placed it squarely on his head.

"Give it back to him!" I got in Ace's face. He smacked me. So hard I fell to the ground. Chris went down by my side.

"You just hit a girl, you shitheap!" Chris said, trying to help me up. Gordie glared at Eyeball and Ace.

"Now Christopher, I know you didn't mean to insult my friend." Eyeball said, in his phony sweetness. Ace laughed.

"I know he didn't mean to insult me, which is why I'm going to give him the opportunity to take it back." He said. Chris got up from sitting next to me on the ground. Ace grabbed him and straddled him face down to the sidewalk. Eyeball just laughed. You could never tell he was his brother.

"Oh shit!" Chris yelled.

"Let him go!" I yelled, trying to push Ace off of Chris. He smacked me to the ground. Tears stung my eyes, as I tried to get back up but couldn't. Gordie was fighting Eyeball for the hat. Chris was almost about to be killed by Ace.

"Take it back!" Ace screamed. Chris looked like he was about to cry.

"I take it back! I take it back!" Chris screamed. He got up and him and Gordie ran to my side. Ace and Eyeball laughed and began to walk away.

"See you girls, and Ashley, later!" Eyeball said, playing with the baseball cap as they walked away.

"C'mon guys. Forget 'em. They're just a bunch of assholes is all." Chris said, pulling me off of the hard, cold ground. We began to walk away, but Gordie just stood there, staring back at where the two jerks were, even though you couldn't even see them anymore.

"They took the hat." He said. I frowned.

"You'll get it back. I hope, at least." I tried to cheer him up.

Soon we all joined up and began our long journey. We walked on the railroad tracks that would lead us out of town.

"What do we need a pistol for, anyway?" Vern asked.

"It's like, really creepy sleeping in the woods. What if we see a bear?" I said. Chris smirked.

"Or a trashcan!" We laughed and Gordie smiled a bit.

"I brought a comb." Vern told us.

"Good! You know how tangly my damn hair gets!" I said, putting my arm around him. He blushed.

"What do we need a comb for, I mean besides your hair, Ashley." He said. I laughed.

"Well, if we get on TV, we wanna look good, don't we?" Vern asked. I nodded, like I believed him. Even though I was cracking up inside.

"That's a lot of thinking, Vern." Gordie smiled.

"Thanks." Vern said. Teddy pretended to punch him, and Vern flinched.

"Two for flinchin'!" Teddy cackled, and punched him in the shoulder.

"Ow!" Vern said, rubbing his shoulder.

"How far do you think it's gonna be?" Teddy asked.

"Can't be _that_ far." I thought out loud.

"If we follow the tracks all the way into Harlow, should take about twenty miles. That sound about right to you, Gordo?" Chris said. I smiled at him.

"Very smart, Christopher." I laughed, he playfully punched my arm, and then put his around me.

"Yeah, it might even be thirty!" Gordie said. We all nodded. Soon we were all singing_: Have gun will travel reach the card of a man. A knight without armor in a savage land. His fast gun for hire heeds the calling wind. A soldier of fortune is a man called: Paladin._ Teddy continued the song, but we just walked in silence. I started to feel eyes on my face so I turned to see Chris smiling at me.

"What?" I asked. "_Do I have a booger?_" I mimicked him from earlier. He just laughed.

"Nah. Hey what happens if we run outta water?" He asked, forgetting about me. I smiled, as I watched him talk. I never realized he was that…_cute_.

"We could fill up at the junkyard. My dad says it's a safe well." Gordie suggested. We all nodded, cept' Vern.

"Not if Chopper's there." He said, worriedly. I laughed.

"That dumb dog?" I asked, laughing. "If he's there, we'll send _you_ in!" Chris, Gordie, and Teddy laughed. Vern just glared.

"Ha-ha, very funny." He sarcastically said to me. "Hey, I'm kinda hungry. Who's got the food?" I looked around.

"Yeah me too. Anyone bring Twinkies or something?" I asked. Everyone looked around at each other and shrugged.

"Shit! Did anybody bring anything?" Teddy asked. I shook my head.

"Not me. Gordie?" Chris asked. Gordie shook his head.

"Oh this is great! What are we supposed to do? Eat our feet?" Teddy freaked out on us.

"Woah, man, chill. Breathe. In, and out, in and out…" I said, trying to calm him down. He went to punch me and of course I flinched.

"Two for flinchin'!" He said, and pounded me in the should twice.

"Agh!" I screamed, holding onto my shoulder. "You pile of shit!" I yelled, hitting him in the arm. He laughed.

"Chill out, Ashley. In, and out, in and out…" He mimicked me, and I sarcastically smiled at him.

"Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey! Let's see how much money we got." Everyone reached in there pockets and pulled out the random change. "Yeah I got a dollar-two, sixty cents from Chris, sixty-eight cents from Teddy, a dollar-four from Ash, and…" Gordie looked in his hand to see what Vern gave him. "Seven cents, Vern?" He frowned. I could barely hold back a giggle.

"I haven't found my pennies yet." He groaned.

"Well, three-fourteen's pretty good. Quidacioluo's is at the end of that little road that goes by the junkyard. I think we can get some stuff there." Gordie said. Chris looked down the tracks.

"Train coming." He said, coolly. We all stepped back, except for Teddy.

"Come on, Teddy." Chris said.

"No. Uh-uh, I'm gonna dodge it." He said. _Shit!_

"No you're not! Get off the tracks!" I yelled.

"Your crazy man, get off the tracks, now!" Chris said. Teddy shook his head.

"Train dodge. Dig it." He said, the trained nearing us by the second. Any moment now, Teddy would be smashed unless we got him the hell off of there.

"Come on man! Get off the tracks! You wanna get yourself killed?" Chris yelled.

"Just like the beach at Normandy." Teddy said, imitating a machine gun.

"Forget about Normandy!" I shrieked. "You're gonna fucking die, man! Get off the damn tracks! Chris! Do something!" I yelled. Chris grabbed Teddy by the back of the t-shirt, as the train was inches away. They jumped off of the tracks and landed on me. We all fell over.

"I'm just trying to save your life, man! You wanna kill yourself? Is that what you want, God-damnit!?" He asked.

"I don't need no babysitter." Teddy growled.

"You do to." Chris said. He stuck out the palm of his hand. "Skin it." He said.

"I could've dodged it." Teddy grumbled, ignoring Chris's gesture.

"You can dodge it on the way back, Man. Peace. Skin it." He held out his hand once more. Teddy skinned it, out of spite. I ran up to him and wrapped my arms around the front of him.

"You don't have to impress us, you know." I said. "I'd rather you be a weakling and alive, then a hero who's dead." I said. "Wait…you know what I mean." I half laughed. Teddy pushed my arms off of him.

"Shut up, Ashley. I'm no weakling. _You're_ a perfect example of a weakling." He said. I didn't think it was sarcasm this time.

"Excuse me?" We began our walk to the junkyard.

"You heard me, Ashley Barker. You should've heard yourself, screaming like an idiot." Teddy said. I gave him a nasty glare.

"Just shut up, Teddy." Gordie said.

"Yeah man, she did nothing wrong. She's just happy you're okay. We all are." Chris said.

"You treat me like shit all of the time. I know I do it to you too, but I'm joking. You know that. Why do you do it to me so much?" He asked. I was astonished. I couldn't remember the last time I was rude on purpose to him.

"What are you talking about?!" I asked. He glared.

"Just forget it." He said. I was so confused. He started walking faster than the rest of us. I held my hands out to the side.

"What the mother-fuck was that?" I asked. Gordie and Vern shrugged. Chris ran to catch up with Teddy, I couldn't hear what they were saying but this is what they did say:

"What's up with that, Teddy. You know you just spazzed out on Ashley, right?" Chris said.

"Why does she do this to me?" Teddy asked. "Why does she make me like her so much?" Chris's jaw slightly dropped. He fixed that quickly.

"Y-you like her? Like, _like_ like?" He asked. Teddy nodded.

"I can't help it man. She's just so damn…"

"Likeable?" Chris suggested giving him a quick hug. "I know exactly how you feel…" Chris said, taking a deep breath.


	5. Chapter 4

We finally got to the junkyard. All of the wrecked cars kind of looked cool.

"Uh-oh, looks like your mom's been out driving again!" I joked to Vern. Chris and Teddy laughed.

"Oh ha-ha, that was so funny I forgot to laugh!" Vern said. I rolled my eyes.

"And that 'ha-ha' wasn't a laugh?" I argued.

"No, it was sarcasm!" Vern said. I punched him in the arm. He rubbed it and stuck his tongue out at me.

We got to the fence that we were going to have to jump in order to get in the junkyard.

"Stand back, men! Pkowww! Paratroops, over the side!" Teddy shouted, and started climbing. Everyone else did the same as him. I just stood there, thinking.

For some reason the thought about Higgenburg went back into my mind. And then the thought about thinking Chris was cute. As the other boys ran off through the junkyard, Chris stood and waited for me.

"You okay?" He asked. I was staring at the ground,

"What? Oh, yeah." I said, coming back to reality. I threw my bag over the fence, and began to climb. Chris caught the bag, and as I lowered myself, my tank top got stuck in the rust.

"Um…okay weird question…but wanna unhook my tank top from this fence?" I asked, slightly laughing.

"Sure?" He half meant and half asked. He dropped my bag and ran over to see what was wrong. My tank top, and bra _ugh!_, were hooked into a pokey part of the fence. Chris pulled and pulled but it was really stuck.

"Um…Ashley?" He asked, while he tried to figure this out.

"Mhm?" I said, sort of preoccupied with the fact that I was going to have a humongous hole in my shirt/bra.

"You know, Teddy, he's got some feelings for you." As soon as he said it, he regretted it, I could tell.

"Yeah, he's like my brother." I said, misunderstanding him, I guess because he shook his head.

"No, never mind." Chris said, finally getting my shirt and bra unhooked. We began walking back to the boys.

"No, tell me!" I said. I was actually interested in hearing this. What could he mean by feel-…oh now I get it. "Um…wait. Like…_feelings_?" I asked, praying to God he said no.

"Yeah." Chris said.

"Ew! No! Why?" I freaked.

"I don't know, but just please promise me you wont say anything to him!" Chris said holding out his pinky. I linked mine with his out of spite.

"Okay but just so we're clear, it would be impossible for me to like any of you guys." I lied. It was weird but I saw Chris's face drop. "I mean, we're like all brothers and sisters. Don't you think it would be awkward…?" I said. I almost told him, just then, about Higgenburg. But I didn't. Chris looked at me, and frowned.

"Well it wouldn't be _that_ awkward. I mean when you're in love, you're in love." He said. I nodded, wondering if he was thinking the same thing as me. I mean I knew that I liked Chris. But I didn't _love _him. Did I? Thinking back all those times he's rescued me, or pulled me out of a bad situation, or helped me when I was sad, or just playing around, yeah. I guess I did. Okay then if that was the way _I _was feeling, how was he feeling?

"I guess…" I said. We were finally with the other boys. And it was almost as if the conversation never happened.

Soon the canteens were filled, (I did my best to not act weird around Teddy), and we all were sitting around, just babbling about stuff.

"Hey, you guys been watching the Mickey Mouse Club lately?" Vern asked.

"Yeah," everyone said.

"I think Annette's tits are getting bigger." Teddy informed us.

"Think so?" Chris said.

"Maybe she's pregnant." I suggested, used to the guys' silly girl talks. They never mentioned me, so I just go along with it.

"What?" Gordie asked. "Who'd do her?" Chris, Vern, and Teddy stared in disbelief.

"Well I for one would gladly." Teddy smiled, and laughed. Chris rolled his eyes.

"I mean, I'm just saying…that's one of the things that happen when you're pregnant. Or she's an early bloomer…" I said. The boys shrugged.

"How about Jenny Johnson?" Gordie asked, all excited.

"Oh man! She's hot!" Teddy said.

"Jenny Johnson from school?" I asked. They all nodded.

"Now I hope to God _she's_ not pregnant! Because those things are huge!" Teddy laughed. I groaned.

"Oh my gosh, guys. Really? You like _that slut_!" I asked. They looked at me like I had four heads.

"You don't think she's fine?" Vern asked. I stared at him in disbelief. Chris hit him in the head.

"She's a chick, you dumbass!"

"Oh, oh yeah. Sorry, Ashley." That made me feel a little weird. Like, did the boys really think of me as 'one of them'? I nodded at Vern, telling him it was okay. We sat there in silence until Vern spoke up again.

"This is a really great time, you guys." He said.

"The most." Chris said.

"A blast," Added Teddy. I nodded. This would be one of the last good times I spent with them. I wanted to tell them. But it would ruin everyone's good time. I didn't want to be Miss Ashley Downer.

We all took sips of our canteens and did fountain spits.

"Alright, watch this!" I said, grabbing Gordie's canteen out of his hand. I stood in front of Vern and faced my back to him.

"What the hell…"

"Watch!" I leaned my head backwards and shot the water out. It shot up in the air like a rocket and landed beautifully on Vern's head.

"Alright, spit at the fat kid! Real good!" I laughed at him, and hugged him quickly. "Gordo, what time is it?"

"Umm…it's a quarter after one." He told us.

"We better go get the food. The junkyard opens at three. Chopper will be here." Vern worriedly told us. Me and Chris exchanged smiling glances.

"Oooh sic balls!" Chris said.

"Rawr, I'm gonna get your balls!" I laughed with him.

"I'm not going." Vern said.

"Well me neither!" Teddy said.

"No way am I going." Gordie said.

"Oh shut up guys, we'll flip for it." I said. Chris nodded.

"Odd man goes?" Gordie asked.

"That's you, Gordie, man, odd as a cod!" Teddy cracked.

"And that's you Teddy, queer as a deer!" I laughed.

"Flip or eat lead." Gordie grumbled. We all flipped a nickel and each got tails.

"Oh man, that's a goocher!" Vern freaked.

"Come on man, that doesn't mean anything. Flip again." Chris said.

"No, man. No man. A goocher- that's really bad. You remember when Clint Bracken and those guys got wiped-out on Weed Hill in Durham? Billy told me they was flipping for beers and they came up with a goocher, just before they got in the car, and BANG! They all got totaled! I don't like this. Sincerely." Vern said. I rolled my eyes.

"Verno! No one believes that stuff about moons and goochers, it's _baby_ stuff! Now come on, flip again!" We all flipped.

"You lose, Gordie! Gordie lost! Ol' Gordie just screwed the pooch!" Teddy laughed.

"Does the word _retarded_ mean anything to you?" Gordie asked, very upset.

"Go get the provisions, you morphodite!" Teddy ordered.

"Don't call me any of your mother's pet names!" Gordie fought back.

"What a wet end you are, Lachance!" Teddy snarled.

"Shut up." Gordie glared. The three boys grouped together and laughed out: I don't shut up, I grow up! And when I look at you, I _throw_ up! Naahhh!

"And then your mother goes around the corner and she licks it up." Gordie answered. I laughed and patted his back.

"Good one, Gordo." I smiled.

"You better get going now, Gordie." Vern said.

"Want me to come with?" I asked, cheerfully.

"Nah, that's fine." He said, smiling. He walked down to Quidacioluo's by himself. Vern and Teddy pretended to be soldiers, and me and Chris just stayed seated and he put his arm around me while I lay my head down on his shoulder. I was about to say something when on word popped into my head: Higgenburg. Terrible, horrible, Higgenburg. Should I tell him? I decided not to. He would know later.

"What's wrong, Ashley?" He asked. "You're going off; making them faces you do when you're upset. Or when something's bothering you." He looked down at me. I noticed my eyes were filling up with tears. I rubbed them and pretended like I was just tired.

"Nothing. I'm fine. It's all fine, I swear." I lied, once more. Me and my lies are going to kill me someday. I stared at his face. Now with my new decision that I loved him, I was happy to let it be known in my head. I could never tell him though. _Way_ too awkward. He smiled down at me.

"Okay, good. So, have you been thinking about the Teddy situation?" He asked me. I could tell he felt weary asking me. Weird.

"Yeah…sort of. I don't like him like that. I wanna stay friends like we are now. Is that why he freaked out on me earlier?" I asked. Chris nodded. I nodded too, understandingly.

"Can I ask you something?" Chris asked me.

"Shoot." I said, playing with a metal part I found beside me.

"What you said earlier, about not being able to like anyone of us…" He said. I dropped the metal piece, and looked up at him. How did he know? I didn't tell anyone. I was positive I told no one. "Did…did you mean it?" He asked. I thought a minute. Even though I'd done it multiple times, I felt like I couldn't lie this time.

"W-well…I guess not. I mean I guess there's a possibility that one day…maybe…I could possibly fall in love with one of you." That wasn't a total lie. There was a possibility, and it happened. Chris smiled.

"Which one of us do you think it'll be?" He asked, laughing. I smiled warily. But, before I had time to answer, Vern said he said Milo and Chopper coming this way. We ran to the fence, scaled it and hopped over, waiting for Gordie.

Soon we saw him with the food and tried to make him notice that he would soon be sic-ed in the balls. He noticed, alright, when the dog came chasing after him.

"Sic 'em, sic 'em boy!" Milo, the junkyard owner, screamed. Gordie ran like the wind and hopped over the fence, still holding the hamburger meat, which was our food.

"That's Chopper?" Gordie asked, out of breath. Teddy rubbed his but against the fence.

"Come on, Choppy! Kiss my ass, Choppy! Kiss my ass! Come on, bite shit! Come on, Choppy! _Sic balls_ Choppy!" Teddy teased. We all laughed.

"Hey, you kids! Stop teasing that dog! You hear me? Stop teasin' him!" Milo came over to the fence, but he was on the other side with Chopper.

"Yeah, I'd like to see you try to climb over the fence and get me, Fatass!" teddy shouted.

"Don't call me that, you little tin-weasel peckerhead loony's son!" We all gasped and went silent.

"What did you call me?" Teddy asked, about to burst. Milo laughed.

"I know who you are. You're Teddy Duchamp. Your dad's a loony- a loony up in the nuthouse in Togus! He took your ear, and put it to the stove, and burnt it off!"

"My father stormed the beach at Normandy." Teddy whispered.

"He's crazier than a shithouse rat! No wonder you're acting the way you are, with a loony for a father!" Milo continued. I gasped and grabbed Chris's arm. He wrapped his arm around me, and a shiver went down my spine.

"You call my dad a loony one more time, and I'll kill you!" Teddy said, normally. Milo crossed his eyes and moved his hands around.

"Loony, loony, loony!" Milo said, laughing hysterically. Teddy broke out nuts and tried to climb the fence. Gordie and Vern pulled him down.

"Aaaah! I'm gonna rip off your head and shit down your neck! Oh I'm gonna kill that asshole!" Teddy shouted.

"You come on and try it you slimy little bastard!" Milo shouted. I cuddled in close to Chris, real scared.

"He wants you to go over there so he can beat the piss outta you and then take you to the cops!" Chris tried to calm down Teddy.

"You're Chambers. And who's this? Got yourself a slut, there, Chambers?" Milo asked, referring to me.

"A slut!?" I asked, very, very, _very_ offended. Who was he to call me a slut when he's never seen me before.

"You don't talk to her or any of us that way!" Gordie defended me.

"Yeah, so leave us alone, fatass. Go fuck your sister some more!" Chris yelled.

"I know you guys. Your Lachance, and Chambers, I know all you guys cept' slutty over there. And all your fathers are gonna get a call from me, except loony up in Togus!" Teddy jumped up and tried to climb the fence again. We pulled him off and dragged him away from the laughing Milo. Soon we couldn't see the junkyard anymore. I couldn't speak. I was terrified after what just happened. Chris kept his arm around me, and I kept my eyes widened so I wouldn't cry. Teddy walked in front of us, and I think he _was_ crying.

"We sure showed him! Thought we were a bunch of pussies." Vern said, proudly. I couldn't even speak.

"He ranked my old man." Teddy literally cried. I felt a tear roll down my cheek.

"H-he called me a slut. I've never seen him before in my life." Okay…now I was crying. It was a tiny insult that hurt so much. I've never been called a slut before. Not even as a joke.

"It's alright guys. Teddy, what do you care what a fat old pile of shit says about your old man?" Chris asked.

"He still stormed the beach in Normandy, right?" Gordie said. I couldn't understand why the boys didn't give a shit about me. I was petrified and could barely walk. I mean, I know Teddy had a harder time than me, but…I was crying so hard. They didn't even notice. Except Chris. As he spoke to Teddy, he wrapped his arm around me once more and held me close to him.

"Just forget it," Teddy said.

"You think that pile of shit was at Normandy?" Vern asked. Trying, but not succeeding.

"Forget it, alright?" Teddy said, getting angrier.

"He don't know nothing about your old man. He's just dog shit!" Vern really wasn't helping the situation at all.

"Whatever is between you and your old man, he can't change that!" Chris said. That was…_sorta_ helping.

"Forget it, alright? Just forget it!" Teddy shouted. He stormed off, farther in front of us. I looked down at my feet. Chris looked over at me.

"You alright?" He asked me. I couldn't move, but I nodded, somehow, yes.

"That pile of shit had no right to call you that." Gordie told me, putting his arm around my waist, because my shoulders were taken.

"T-thanks." I said. Vern came next to Chris.

"Yeah well, you don't gotta worry about him." Vern said. I nodded. I felt happier they cared so much about me. It was a few minutes of silence until Teddy walked back to us.

"I'm sorry if I'm ruinin' everyone's good time." He said, kindly.

"It's okay, man. It's okay." Chris said. I nodded.

"Yeah, it's fine." I added. Gordie shrugged.

"I'm not sure it _should_ be a good time." He said.

"You saying you wanna go back?" Chris asked; he seemed pissed.

"No, but going to see a dead kid—maybe it shouldn't be a party." I was shocked at this. I mean yeah…but…okay Gordie was right.

"Yeah like if he's really bad, like all cut up and blood and shit all over him. I might have nightmares!" Vern said. I groaned loudly, and squeezed my eyes shut and pushed my head into Chris's neck.

"Shut up!" I shouted. "Shut up, shut up, shut up!" I yelled. Chris hit Vern in the back of the head.

"Stop it, man! You know how she gets!" Chris comforted me.

"Like all guts and eyeballs all ready to jump and grab…" Vern said. I shuddered, dug my nails into Chris.

"Stop it!" Chris yelled at Vern. "Its okay, Ash."

"Sorry." Vern said to me. I let go of Chris, realizing what an idiot I looked like.

Soon we were walking down the tracks. I was walking by myself, with Teddy and Vern dancing or something in front of me, and Chris and Gordie talking behind me. I couldn't exactly hear them. So it was just me and my thoughts.

My first thought was Higgenburg. It was going to be terrible. A bunch of skanks who thought they were better than me because I was poor. And it would be hard. The tests and homework would be hard. And I would live with a _roommate_. Ew. And live in a dorm room or something. This was going to be terrible. I didn't want to go. I love when Chris, Teddy, Vern, Gordie, and I piss off the teachers and get detention. And sit with each other at lunch and make fun of the Views. It's the best time. And now it's gonna be done because my dad doesn't want the 'distraction'.

Then Chris. God I really liked him. I _loved _him. It was nuts. He's like my brother and now all of a sudden I'm in love. I get the feeling he feels the same way about me too. I just wish one of us would speak up first…


	6. Chapter 5

Soon we got to a long, railroad bridge. I began thinking about what would happen if we were in the middle of the bridge and a train came. There'd be nowhere to run to. We'd get smashed to pieces.

We stood there, trying to decide what to do.

"Does anyone know when the next train is due?" Vern asked. Chris shrugged.

"We _could_ go down the route 136 bridge." He suggested. Teddy looked at him like he was nuts.

"Are you crazy? That's five miles down the river. You walk five miles _down_ the river, you walk five miles back! That could take til' dark. If we go across here, we'll make it to the same place in ten minutes!" He told us. Now _I_ looked at _him_ like _he_ was crazy!

"But if a freaking train comes, there's nowhere to go!" I told him. Vern nodded.

"No there isn't, we'll just jump." He said like it was nothing.

"Teddy, its a hundred feet." Chris said. I nodded.

"Plus, you know how bad me and Vern are at swimming!" I said. Vern blushed.

"I'm not _that_ bad." He said. I squinted my eyes at him.

"You're as bad as me." I said.

"Again. I'm not _that_ bad." He teased me. I hit his arm.

"Whatever. I mean the more we piss and moan about it, the sooner a train's gonna come. So are we taking the short and easy way, or are we taking the long and tiring way?" Teddy asked. I groaned.

"Fine. I'll go over the bridge." I said.

"Me too." Chris joined.

"Fine." Gordie said.

"I'm scared if a train comes-" Vern argued, we all turned and glared at him. "Okay fine, whatever!" We all started walking across the bridge, Vern crawling while Gordie walked with him in the back. I walked with Chris and Teddy in the front. We didn't really talk that much until I heard Vern yell,

"I lost the comb!" I rolled my eyes.

"TRAIN!" Gordie yelled. I turned around to see smoked rising off of a train. I couldn't breathe. I stood there, motionless while Chris, Teddy, and Gordie tried to run as fast as they could. Vern was as motionless as me.

"Ashley! Vern come on! We're gonna die! Come on! Move! Run!" They yelled. I tried to run. I tried. I really did. But I couldn't bring myself to move. Gordie was trying to get Vern to move as well. Chris and Teddy finally got off the tracks. I still couldn't move.

"Ashley! Come on let's go!" Chris shouted. Vern and Gordie were struggling, but at least they were moving. I just stood there, waiting to die.

"Aw this is bullshit!" Chris said, running over to get me. Next thing I knew, I was in his arms. He was actually carrying me off of the tracks. I couldn't even breathe. It all happened so fast. Soon, everyone was off the tracks and the train was gone.

"What the hell were you two doing?" Chris asked me and Vern.

"I-I-I" I stuttered.

"We were scared, what do think?" Vern said.

"Please don't be mad at me." I said, mostly to Chris.

"We're not mad." Gordie said.

"We're glad you're okay." Teddy said.

"I'm mad." Chris said, starting to walk.

"What?" I asked, following him quickly. Everyone else walked behind us.

"You shouldn't have done that." He said. Okay now he was just not making sense.

"I was scared shitless!" I exclaimed. "How can you be mad at me for being scared!?" He just stared at me. He glared.

"You know, Barker, you have no clue what a distraction you are." I gulped, and felt a rush of tears come on. My father's words. Those were my father's words. How…what…why?

"What?" I asked, tears storming out, and flowing down my cheeks. He grabbed my shoulder.

"Ash-" I pulled his hand off of me.

"Don't. Talk. To. Me." I said, forcefully, running far ahead so I couldn't see them. Then I just let it out. I cried the whole walk. Crying. Crying. Crying.

Back with the boys:

"What the hell did you say to her, Chris?" Gordie asked Chris. Chris shook his head.

"Nothing." He said. He ran to catch up with me.

"Hey Ashley." He said, putting his arm around me. I ripped them off and looked the other way. "C'mon I said nothing wrong. I'm not mad no more." He said looking at me hopefully.

"No, you really did say something wrong." I said. _Shit! _I couldn't tell him about what my dad said without telling him about Higgenburg and everything.

"What did I say?" He asked. I looked at him. I stared at his perfect face. God I loved that face.

"N-never mind." I kicked a rock. He glanced at me, partly smiling. I smiled back at him and he grabbed me and put his arm around me.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

We were sitting around a fire, burning our hamburgers in it. We each were setting up our sleeping bags or blankets when I realized: I forgot to pack anything to sleep on.

"Anyone have anything I can use?" I asked.

"Can share with me?" Chris offered.

"Mkay." I said, smiling slightly. I mean, I was going to like…share a bed with him.

"Hey Vern you better turn yours over." Chris said, smiling at me.

"This is the way I like to do it." Vern said.

"Fine," Chris smiled as Vern's hamburger fell off of the stick. We all laughed.

"Aw man! Aw no, Gordie you got anymore?" Vern asked. Gordie laughed.

"Sorry Vern," he said.

"It's not funny! What am _I _supposed to eat?" Vern pouted.

"Why don't you eat your dick?" Teddy joked. I smirked and then turned it to a straight face when Vern glared at me.

"Be a small meal." Chris laughed. Vern dug his stick in the fire and got the hamburger meat out.

"Aha! Screw you guys, I got it!" Vern laughed.

"I cherish these moments." Teddy smiled. I smiled back at him.

"Definitely." I added.

"Hey Gordo, why don't you tell us a story." Chris said.

Gordie told us this awesome story, but I couldn't really pay attention. I kept staring at Chris. At some points he would look at me, and I would quickly look away. But he was _so_ cute. One point he looked at me and I forgot to look away. He smiled and winked. I gasped. What did that mean? He laughed to himself and continued listening to the story.

"That was awesome, really fine man, really fine!" Chris said.

We talked into the night. It was the best man, really it was.

"Alright, alright. Mickey's a mouse, Donald's a duck, Pluto's a dog, what's Goofy?" Gordie asked.

"If I could have one food for the rest of my life? That's easy. Pez. Cherry flavored pez! No question about it!" said Vern.

"When you peel a banana, does it _feel_ you peeling it? Does it _hurt_ the banana?" I asked.

"He can't be a dog. He wears a hat and drives a car." Said Chris.

"I mean a banana's a fruit, right? They can't like…have _feelings_." I said.

"Goofy's a dog. He's definitely a dog." Said Teddy.

"Wagon train's a really cool show. But did you ever notice that they never get anywhere? They just keep on wagon training." Gordie said.

"That's weird. What the hell is Goofy?" Vern asked.

"I don't know, but did you ever realize that Donald Duck doesn't wear pants? I mean he's a duck, he shouldn't really be wearing clothes in the first place…" I mentioned.

"I guess you're right about the banana. They don't have feelings." Chris said.

"I mean, if you're going to wear clothes you might as well go full out. Like wear your shirt, and your hat, and your little tie…but…also wear…pants, you know?" I said.

It was the best night ever. I swear.

That night we all fell asleep pretty easily. Except me. I mean Chris opened up his sleeping bag so we could use it as a blanket. We both lay under it and he fell asleep almost instantly. But, before he did it was really awkward. I rolled over to face him and he was staring at me.

"Hi." I whispered, because everyone else was asleep.

"Hello." He whispered back.

"I can't believe we're like in the same bed…ha-ha that came out wrong." I whispered, while laughing. He was blushing insanely. I chuckled.

"You're so pretty." I could barely hear him.

"What?" I asked. He shook his head.

"Go to sleep, Ashley." He laughed, and laid his head down.

Everyone was asleep until we heard a howling noise. Everyone woke up.

"What the fuck was that?" I asked, grabbing Chris's arm.

"It's that Brower kid's ghost!" Teddy said. Vern was practically crying.

"I promise I won't hawk no more dirty books. I promise I won't say no more bad swears. I promise I'll eat all my lima beans." He swore. We all rolled our eyes.

"Oh shut up." Chris said. "Maybe we should stand guard." He suggested. We came to the conclusion that we would take shifts sitting out for a few hours with the gun in case anything or any_one_ came. Teddy was first. He was acting all…soldier-y about it. It was so annoying.

Anyway, I got my sleep and then I started hearing Chris and Gordie talking. I couldn't make out what they were saying but I guess I fell asleep again because the next thing I knew, Chris was waking me up for my shift.

"Ashley, it's your turn!" Chris urged in whisper. When I opened my eyes I saw his face.

"Oh my gosh!" I freaked. His eyes had red rings around them and were puffy. "Were you crying?" I asked. He looked away.

"Uh…get up. It's your shift." He said, getting back under his blanket. I frowned. Something was wrong.

Sitting there by the fire, waiting, gave me the most time to think I could've ever asked for. I came to two conclusions: 1. I loved Chris…a lot, and 2. I was _not_ going to Higgenburg. I waited for a while until I noticed that Chris was not asleep. He was staring at me from the little make-shift bed area. I smiled.

"You awake?" I asked him. He nodded and came over and sat next to me. I looked over at him, and because I was so overwhelmed I just broke down and cried. I leaned down on Chris's chest and just let it all out.

"You okay?" he asked. I looked up at him.

"D-did you ever wonder what life would be like if I didn't live next door anymore? If I never saw you again except occasionally on holidays?" I asked him. He looked at me like I was crazy.

"Never, Ashley, what are you trying to get at?" He asked. I shook my head.

"Did you ever hear of Higgenburg Academy?" I cried out.

"That school of sluts?" He asked. I frowned through my tears.

"I'm not a slut, Chris." I said, looking down at the fire. He was shocked and grabbed me and pulled me into a tight hug.

"You're _not_ going to that place." He said. I kept on crying.

"My dad wants me out of the house. He said that it would be an excellent education and I'm a 'distraction'." I told him. He looked up at the stars.

"Is that why you were upset when I called you that today?" He asked. I nodded and wiped my face so it was all blotchy and red. He looked at me.

"Do you know why I called you that?" He asked. I shook my head. We stared at each other and soon his face got closer to mine and our lips touched. It was magic, I swear. It was a long kiss. I continued the kiss for about a minute until I pulled back.

"You have no idea how long I've wanted you to do that." He told me.

"Me too." I blushed.

"Really?" he asked. I nodded.

"I knew you liked me. I just knew it." I told him.

"So…are you like my girlfriend now or…?" He asked, and I shrugged.

"I don't think so…I mean I think it would be weird to the boys." I told him. He gave me a hurt look. What more did he want from me, we basically just made out!?

"I think I love you, though." He said. And we kissed again. I wish I realized that that whole time…Teddy was watching.


	7. Chapter 6

That morning, we continued the walk. Me and Chris were a little awkward around each other though. I couldn't help but notice that Teddy kept making faces at Chris a lot behind his back. It was pretty weird.

"Geez, Gordie. Why couldn't you get some breakfast stuff? You know, like twinkies and pez and stuff?" Vern asked, I laughed.

"Sounds delicious, Verno." I laughed. I noticed Teddy snarl at me. What the hell?

"Sorry Vern. I guess a more experienced shopper could have gotten more for your seven cents." Gordie said. We stopped at a field. We could either keep going on the tracks and get there later, or take a short cut through the forest to Back Harlow Road.

"Gentleman, the Royal." Chris said. We all stared out into the forest.

"God the tracks go out of the way!" Teddy said. I nodded.

"If we cut across this field we'll be there in an hour." Chris nodded. Teddy glared.

"Oh aren't you mister know-it-all!" He yelled.

"What are you pissin about?" Chris asked.

"Don't act like you don't know." Teddy said. I gulped. He knew. I don't know how, but he knew. Chris eyed me carefully.

"I-I don't know." Chris said.

"What the hell's going on, guys?" Gordie asked. A hurt look went upon my face.

"What's wrong, Ash." Vern asked. I walked down to the field alone. I heard someone follow me and turned around to see Chris.

"How does he know?" I asked him. The other boys were walking slowly behind us.

"I don't know." He replied, taking a deep breath. I did the same.

"We shouldn't have done it. Shouldn't have kissed each other! I-I can't like you like that. I'm going to Higgenburg when I get home. That's that. I can't love you." I said, flatly. All lies. Total lies. But I knew my dad, and he wanted to get rid of me. If that was how it was gonna happen, then…I couldn't go throughout my new school year miserably thinking of how sad Chris would be. If he thought I never liked him, he could just move on while I was away. We could forget each other.

"That's a lie, Ashley. You _know_ it's a lie!" I could see tears begin to fill his eyes.

"No," Tears stung mine. "No it's true." I felt them flow down my red cheeks. He stroked my wet face.

"No it's not, Ashley. Please don't say this." He cried for real now. I couldn't watch him cry. Who could stand there and bare watching their love cry for you? I couldn't. But I had to.

"Shut up, Chris! I was tired last night! I had feelings that I just don't have anymore! It was a fling, okay? I campfire FLING! Nothing's ever gonna happen between us again! Or Teddy, for that matter! I don't like you! I really don't!" I cried out. He stared in disbelief. It took a few minutes for him to break the silence.

"Is that really how you want it? Us hating each other for the rest of our lives?" he asked, quietly. I sniffled.

"No. We're best friends, Chris. But that's all we'll ever be. Just forget anything ever happened last night, okay?" I asked, fiercely. He nodded, and stared down at the floor.

"Okay." He whispered. I wiped my eyes, and nodded, as well.

"Okay. Let's catch up with the guys now." We ran into forest. Well, _I _did. Chris just kind of slowly trailed along behind me.

I knew I hurt him. But it was the only way. The only way to feel better about going to Higgenburg. But I didn't feel any better.

We were standing in front of this lake. It was the only way to get to the other side. We had to cross it.

"How the hell do we get across this!?" Vern asked. Teddy grinned.

"We use _you_ as a raft!" He laughed at his own joke. I smiled a little, but couldn't bring myself to laugh. Teddy notice that Chris and I had caught up with them, and frowned.

Chris took a branch and stuck down in the water to see how deep it was.

"It's not that deep, we can walk across." He said, sadly.

"Okay," Vern said, and he and I were about to walk in.

"Hey, what's got you down?" Gordie asked Chris. He shrugged.

"Nothing, let's just go." I knew it was because of me. Why was I such a bitch!?

We all lifted on foot and walked in. The second step we took, we all fell into the _really_ deep water!

"I told you we should've stuck to the tracks!" Vern said, like he knew everything.

"Is it me, or are you the biggest pussy in the world?" Teddy asked. I rolled my eyes. Vern frowned.

"I suppose this is fun for you?" Vern said. Teddy laughed.

"No, but _this_ is!" he dunked Teddy's head into the swampy water. Soon, we were all dunking each other and splashing each other. I couldn't help but notice that Chris didn't really join in on the fun, which ended as soon as we noticed a black slimy thing on Vern's neck.

"It's a leech! Leeches! Jesus Christ, get 'em off!" Teddy screamed, as we all piled out of the swamp. We all had leeches all over our bodies. All the guys were taking their clothes off. I didn't feel too comfortable taking my shirt off in front of my guy friends. I felt…like uncertain of myself. But, I realized I had leeches _all_ over my body! I pulled my tank top off and revealed my bra. The boys stopped in their tracks and stared. I ignored them and started ripping those little bastards off!

"Woah, Ash!" Teddy said, and whistled.

"Shut up, immature freak!" I snarled, as I pulled the leeches off. They left bloody marks all over me. Everyone did the same, and soon we got them off. But, then Gordie got a sick look on his face and looked down in his pants. He reached down and pulled out a bloody handful of a leech.

"Chris, oh man, Chris…" We all looked disgusted at him. Me, especially.

"Oh ew!" I turned green and ran back behind a tree and threw up. Blood I just couldn't handle. I took deep breaths after I spilled my guts. And I walked back over to the boys.

Apparently, Gordie fainted and they were trying to wake him up.

"Cool it guys, he just fainted, alright?" Chris said as I came over. He looked up, and then looked back down at Gordie. Teddy glared at me too.

"You okay, man?" I asked Gordie, as he sat up.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He said. Chris took a deep breath.

"Maybe we should take Gordie back." He suggested.

Teddy threw his hands up in the air.

"Oh, great Chambers. Now you're turning pussy too!" I crossed my arms.

"Now, come on!" I shouted, then spit out some more of the taste of puke. Chris ignored me, of course.

"What's your problem, Duchamp? He had a leech hanging from his balls—he fainted!" He shouted, instead of asking if I was okay. Sure, Gordie just fainted, but I threw up!

"What're you, his mother?" Teddy asked. I rolled my eyes, and sat down next to Gordie. I looked over at him and smiled, he slightly grinned.

"Eat shit." Chris shouted.

"You eat shit!" Teddy shouted louder. I could see Gordie getting irritated.

"Hey, hey, hey, I think Chris is right. Let's go back." Teddy joined in the argument. Me and Gordie just sat there and watched this.

"Oh, ha-ha! What a surprise! The king of the pussies wants to go back too!"

"Stop calling me that!"

"What, pussy?"

"Stop it." Gordie was turning red.

"Pussy."

"Stop..."

"Pussy, pussy, pussy, pussy!"

"You four-eyed psycho!" Vern charged at Teddy and took him down.

"Ow! Get off me! Ow, get..." Vern was tackling and beating up Teddy as much as he could.

"Two for flinching—you like it?! You like it?! Two for flinching—you like it?! Huh, Teddy?! You like it?! You like it?!"

"Come on, break it up!" Chris said, always the peacemaker. I wanted him to know I was lying. I really loved him. Why was I an idiot!?

"Chris…" I tried, but couldn't bring myself to say anything more.

"Stop it." Gordie whispered. I looked over at him. "Stop it!" His voice got louder. "STOP IT!!" He shouted. The others stop and looked at Gordie, like I did. "I'm not goin' back."

We all nodded and continued our walk. We walked a while through the forest. I tried to walk with Chris but he would walk quicker every time I tried. The only person who would walk with me was Vern.

"So, are you freaked to see the body?" He asked me. I turned my head and glared at that boy.

"You're kidding, right?" I asked. He shrugged.

"Well…whatever. I'm excited. It might be bloody-"

"VERN! SHUT UP!" I shouted, and ran to the front, and walked alone. I couldn't deal with all this. Gordie was traumatized, Chris hated me, Teddy hated me as well, and now _Vern_ hated me. Higgenburg was looking better and better…


	8. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer & Whatnot: I do not own ANYTHING from Stand by Me, I only own Ashley, and extra adlibbing. (:**

We were nearing the Back Harlow Road. I was pissed off and frustrated at everyone. Not Gordie, though.

"Coming through the woods, I bet we saved over an hour." Chris said. I nodded.

"Teddy?" Gordie asked. I looked up at Teddy.

"Yeah?" Teddy answered, kicking a rock behind a tree.

"Is this the Back Harlow Road?" Gordie asked again.

"Yeah." Teddy said. Chris looked around.

"That Brower kid must be around here someplace. Teddy, you, Ashley, and Vern watch the left side of the tracks, we'll take the right." We all agreed. We began looking. I was really on edge though. I did _not_ wanna be the one to find the dead kid. I would puke again, and throwing up more than once in one hour could not be too good for my health. I was startled by a scream.

"There he is! I see him! Look! Look over there! I see him! I see him!" Vern shouted. My whole complexion turned white. I felt the throw up slowly lurking up my throat. I couldn't see this body.

Vern was by a bush near the riverbank. I could see a dirty sneaker. My now white complexion turned green.

Somewhere else under that bush was a dead kid.

"Jesus." Chris said. They walked over there and looked.

"Ashley come here you gotta see this!" Teddy said. "Come on, please its not that bad." I groaned and carefully walked over there.

I clamped both eyes shut and put out my hand for Teddy to take. He led me over to the bush.

I opened one eye. The sight was unbearable. He was slightly bloody, overweight, and his eyes were open. He kind of looked like Vern a teeny bit. I opened the other eye and stared at him. My regular tan complexion came back.

"Let's look for some long branches. We'll build him a stretcher." Chris said, as me, Teddy, and Vern began searching for big branches. Gordie sat down on a log and stared at the body. He looked sad.

"Gordie?" I said.

"Why did you have to die?" He whispered loud enough for us to hear.

"What's the matter with Gordie?" Vern asked.

"Nothing. Why don't you guys just go over there and look for some branches, okay?" Chris said. I knew he was going to help Gordie, like he always did. That made me happy. He was such a good friend. I smiled over at them, and continued searching through the woods for branches.

"This one's pretty big." Vern said. I noticed that Teddy was staring at me. I looked over at him.

"Yes?" I asked.

"I saw you guys last night." He said. My complexion turned white again. I knew he knew somehow.

"I know." I answered.

"Saw who? What?" Vern asked. We ignored him.

"You knew I liked you though." He cried. I gave him a '_so_' look.

"You like Ashley? What?!" Vern was completely out of the situation.

"So what!? That doesn't mean I have to like you back! I've liked Chris since we planned this trip!" I argued.

"Woah, wait you like Chris?" Vern screeched, again being ignored by us. Teddy frowned.

"Well…whatever. Figures you wouldn't like me." He was down now. I blinked really, really slowly, and took a deep breath.

"Teddy, look. I'm sorry I don't like you. But that doesn't give you any reason for you to hate me or Chris. Okay?" I said. He stared at me for a moment. All of a sudden, Ace and his gang came behind us. I was petrified.

"What the fuck do you know about this?" He asked. I couldn't breathe. None of us could.

"Sumbitch! My little brother!" Eyeball ran out from behind the trees and ran at Chris.

"You wasn't plannin' on takin' the body from us, was you boys?" Ace asked in his phony niceness voice.

"You get away, man. We found him—we got dibs." Chris stood up from the rock he was sitting on, and tried to defend the body and us.

"Yeah, guys. _Dibs_!" I added, defiantly.

"Aw, we better start runnin' Eyeball, they got dibs!" Ace cracked.

"We earned him, man. You guys came in a car. That's not fair. He's ours!" Chris shouted.

"That's not fair. He's ours. Well, not anymore." Eyeball mimicked Chris.

"There's four of us, Eyeball. You just make your move." Teddy joined in the argument.

"Oh, we will. Don't you worry." Ace grinned. I was scared.

"Hey what's that supposed to mean?!" I cried.

"You know what it means, _Ashley_." He winked at me, and I ran behind Chris.

Just then Billy, Charlie and the other Cobras came up behind Ace and Eyeball. Billy glared at Vern.

"Vern! You little sonofawhore! You was under the porch!"

"No, no, I swear, it wasn't me!" Vern cried out, like a total idiot.

"You little keyhole-peepin' bung-wipe, I oughta beat the livin' shit outta you!"

Billy took off his belt to go after Vern, but Ace stopped him as Vern ran off. I looked over at him running. Ace took a step closer to us, and I quivered.

"Now, you guys have two choices. You either leave quietly and we take the body, or you stay, and we beat the shit out of you—and we take the body." He said.

"You can't beat me up!" I spoke out like an idiot. "You can't beat up a girl. Especially a minor. I'll report you to the police. You'll go to jail…ya know?" I smirked. Chris looked back at me like, "Bad idea!" Ace crossed his arms, and pretended to think a minute.

"Fine, we'll just kill _you_." He said, like it was nothing. I took a few steps back. If snakes could smell fear, I'd be dead right now.

"Besides, me 'n' Billy found him first." Charlie said. I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, Vern told us how you found him." Teddy said. He began to make fun of Charlie. "Oh, Billy! I wish we never boosted that car! Oh, Billy! I think I just turned my Fruit of the Looms into a fudge factory." I was smart not to laugh.

"That's it! Your ass is grass!" Charlie shouted.

"Hold it. Okay Chambers, you little faggot! This is your last chance. What do you say, kid?" Ace said. Teddy and I watched to see what Chris would do.

"Why don't you go home and fuck your mother some more." He said, very seriously. I opened my mouth in awe. You do _not_ say something like that to someone who could kill you in second.

Ace took out a switchblade, opened it, and came very, very close to Chris's neck.

"You're dead." He whispered.

See what I mean.

"Come on, Chris. Let's split." Teddy said.

"Y-yeah. Please, Ace, please. Just leave him alone." I cried. "Please?" He looked up at me, and gave me the finger, and then looked back down at Chris's shaking body. Ace couldn't kill Chris, he just couldn't! I loved him. I loved Chris.

"They're not takin' him." Chris said.

"Come on, Chris. This is crazy." Teddy said. I actually began crying.

"Oh, let him go, please, Ace, oh please!" I let the tears rush down my red cheeks and buried my face in Teddy's shoulder. I looked up at him, and realized I was mad at him, and got off immediately.

"They're not takin' him!" Chris was determined. So hot(:

"He's got a knife, man!" Teddy shouted, and ran off the same direction as Vern. I had no where to hide. I was gonna die today, I just knew it.

"Ace, come on man." Eyeball said.

I'm glad he has _some_ conscience about his little brother.

"You're gonna have to kill me, Ace." Chris said.

"No," I whispered. "NO! Please Chris, just let them take the body. Just let them take it! Please!" I begged.

"No problem." Ace said. He was referring to killing Chris, not letting him go.

Ace started to rush Chris, putting the knife to his throat. I clamped my eyes shut, definitely not willing to see this. Then I heard a gunshot. My eyes opened immediately, to see our little Gordie, holding the gun.

"You're not taking him!" He said, pointing the gun straight at Ace. "Nobody is taking him."

"Come on, kid. Just give me the gun before you take your foot off." Ace said, getting fearful. "You ain't got the sack to shoot a woodchuck."

It's sorta the truth.

"Don't move, Ace. I'll kill you, I swear to God." Gordie said.

Hoot hoot! Go Gordie! Ace:

"Come on Lachance, gimme the gun. You must have some of your brother's good sense." Ace said, and I could tell he was scared outta his wits.

"Suck my fat one, you cheap dimestore hood." He said. I was ready to just go over there and fucking kiss that boy.

"Yeah GORDO!" I mouthed to him, he smirked at me, then continued his seriousness.

"What are you gonna do—shoot us all?" Ace asked, as if he ran the world. Gordie kept a straight face.

"No, Ace. Just you." He said. I loved Gordie.

"We're gonna get you for this." Ace said, backing away.

"Maybe you will and maybe you won't." Chris crossed his arms. I ran to Chris's side, and he took hold of my arm, sending shivers down my back.

"Oh, we will. We're not gonna forget this, if that's what you're thinkin'. This is big-time, baby." Ace said.

"And don't even _think_ about killing me you faggot!" I shouted after him, as they ran.

"'Suck my fat one?'—Who ever told you you had a fat one, Lachance?" Chris laughed high-fiving his best friend.

"Biggest one in four counties." Gordie smirked.

"Yeah." Chris chuckled. Vern and Teddy came back.

"Are we gonna take him?" Vern asked.

"No." Gordie answered. I nodded.

"Yeah, that's a good idea. I don't think we should take him." I added.

"But, we came all this way. We were supposed to be heroes." Teddy whined. I rolled my eyes.

"Not this way, Teddy. Chris, gimme a hand." Gordie said. We covered Ray Brower with a blanket.

We began the walk home. As we walked in silence, my mind wandered. My first thought: Higgenburg. What was I going to do? I loved Chris, and I couldn't leave him. I needed him in my life…and the others of course…

"Ashley." Chris said, catching up to me. Whenever I'm thinking as hard as I was, I tend to walk faster than anyone, so I was in front of them.

"Yeah." I said, coming back to reality. He looked over at me and smiled.

"I just wanted to say…back there…when I almost died," He began; I nodded. "I could only think of you. I don't want you to go, Ash. I love ya." He said, putting his arm around me. I could hear Gordie teasing us behind us.

"I-I don't know what to say but…I love you too." I giggled, and stopped walking as did he.

We stared into each others eyes, just like the first time we kissed.

"Woah! Chris and Ashley?" Vern shouted like an idiot.

"This is messed up." Teddy crossed his arms, angrily.

"This is the cutest couple!" Gordie exclaimed. Chris and I giggled together, and his lips pressed to mine. It was like I fell in love with him all over again.

The rest of the walk, I stayed close to Chris. We still were not boyfriend and girlfriend, but in my head I was thinking of ways I could get out of going to Higgenburg, so we_ could_ be BF & GF.

. We walked into the night and we made it back to Castle Rock a little past five o'clock on Sunday morning. It was so hard to believe all this shit happened within 2 days.

We all stopped in the middle of the street and stared at each other.

"Well, see you in school." Vern said. I let a tear slip.

"Yeah." said Chris

"Yeah." Said Gordie.

"See ya in Junior High." Said Teddy.

Vern walked away and he found a coin in the street and bent over to pick it up. He holds it up to showed it to us, and walked away.

"A penny!" He laughed.

"Well, guys—I better get home before my mom puts me on the Ten Most Wanted list." Teddy chuckled.

"Hey, Chris. No hard feelings, okay? You too, Ash." He smiled, and turned.

"No way, man." Chris answered for both of us.

""Have Gun, Will Travel" reads the card of a man. A knight without armor in a savage land. His fast gun for hire..." Teddy sang as he walked home. It was just me and Gordie and Chris.

"Does Gordie know?" Chris asked me. Gordie was confused.

"Know what?" He asked. I shook my head.

"I didn't tell him." I said. "Gordie…I'm going to Higgenburg Academy for school. I might never see you guys again." I cried. Gordie's eyes grew wide.

"NO! Ash you can't!" He exclaimed, hugging me.

"I know," The tears started flowing again. Chris hugged me too.

"Well…I need to go though…but let me come over before you leave!" He shouted, walking away. "See ya!" He cried.

"Not if I see you first." Chris smiled, and then he continued to walk me home.

We didn't talk; he put his arm around me though. We stopped in between our houses. I looked at him.

"Chris…I," He put a finger to my mouth, and leaned down to kiss me.

"Don't leave me." He begged.

"I'll never leave you like this." I said, and kissed him once more. We hugged, and parted. He went to his house, and I went back to mine.

If your wondering what happened…when I got home, my room was packed up. My father was piss-angry, and he told me I was leaving for Higgenburg as soon as possible. Chris came over the day I was leaving, and so did the other boys. They hugged me goodbye, as I sat in the car. Chris kissed me a thousand times. I'll never forget that summer. The best summer of my life.

**DIDYA LIKEE ITT? Love itt ? Need more Ashley ? Well please please please review! & I need your help! Should I make a sequel? Should Ashley come back? Should the guys come to her? Please help me people! & This is the first fanfic I've ever finished so please, review your brains out!!!!!! (: Thanksss ! **

**Special thanks to irishrachel1 for inspiring me (: & Abaybay115, who is my BESSTTT friend in the world! (:**

**FANFICTION ROOOOOXXXXXXXX ! (:**


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